International Brahms Conference

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Brahms's birth, in 1983 the Music Division hosted an international festival and conference dedicated to the study and performance of the composer's music. The conference included both lectures and concerts focused on Brahms's music. Many of these events were recorded, and may be accessed by contacting the Recorded Sound Research Center.

In conjunction with the conference, the Music Division released a publication compiled by the musicologist George S. Bozarth that listed the Brahms manuscripts and letters in the Music Division's possession as of 1983. The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.

The musical manuscripts and letters of Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) in the collections of the Music Division, Library of Congress by George S. Bozarth
Call Number: ML134.B8 L5 1983
Published/Created: 1983
Available online

In 1990, the lectures delivered at the conference were published in written form:

Brahms studies : analytical and historical perspectives : papers delivered at the International Brahms Conference, Washington, DC, 5-8 May 1983
Call Number: ML410.B8 I5 1983
Published/Created: 1990
Collecting the work of the foremost American, British, and German music scholars, this volume presents studies that discuss important aspects of Brahms's musical life. Subject areas include Brahms and musical tradition, Brahms the progressive, performance practice, Brahms as editor, Brahms as song composer, and Brahms's symphonic music.

How to Find Recordings from the Conference

Search the Online Catalog for recordings from the Symposium. Contact the Recorded Sound Research Center to access them.

Search the Online Catalog using the keyword "International Brahms Conference"
Includes lecture and concert recordings from the symposium.

Highlighted Recordings

The items below, listed in chronological order, are select audio recordings of lectures and music performances from the conference. The titles offer a representative sample and link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.

Concert on May 5, 1983
Call Number: RWA 5600-5601
Published/Created: May 5, 1983
Works performed: Variations on a theme by Schumann, op. 23; Sonata in D minor for violin and piano, op. 108; Symphony no. 3 in F major, op. 90, transcribed by Brahms for two pianos
Performers: Bracha Eden, Alexander Tamir, Gidon Kremer, and Valery Afanassiev
Conference, Friday, May 6
Call Number: RWA 5602-5608
Published/Created: May 6, 1983
Lectures: "Form" and the Tragic overture: an adjuration by Claudio Spies; Brahms, Johannes, 1833-1897, his past, and modes of music theory by David Lewin; Musical language and structure in the Third symphony by Robert Bailey; The role of the trial performance in Brahms's compositional process by Margit L. McCorkle; The publication of Brahms's Third symphony: a crisis of dissemination by Robert Pascall.
Concert on May 6, 1983
Call Number: RWA 5609-5610
Published/Created: May 6, 1983
Concert included a variety of works by Brahms, featuring the performers Detlef Kraus, Paul Sperry, Irma Vallecillo, Richard Stoltzman, the Cantilena Chamber Players with Sergiu Schwartz, Ik-Hwan Bae, and Matias Naegele.
Conference, Saturday, May 7
Call Number: RWA 5611-5614
Published/Created: May 7, 1983
Lectures: Brahms, Wagner, and the problem of historicism in 19th century music by Christoph Wolff; Early Brahms collections in Vienna by Otto Biba; Brahms's editions of Schumann by Linda Correll Roesner; Brahms's edition of twenty Schubert ländler: an essay in criticism by David L. Brodbeck; Thematic structure and formal processes in Brahms's sonata movements by Siegfried Kross
Concert on May 7, 1983
Call Number: RWA 5615-5616
Published/Created: May 7, 1983
Works performed:: Trio in E-flat major for piano, violin, and horn, op. 40; Vier Klavierstücke, op. 119; Serenade in A major, op. 16
Performers: Charles Rosen, Robert Gerle, Richard Todd, and the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia with Robert Gerle, conductor
Conference, Sunday, May 8
Call Number: RWA 5617-5618
Published/Created: May 8, 1983
Lectures: Cyclic tendencies in Brahms's song collections by Imogen Fellinger; Brahms's Lieder ohne Worte: the "poetic" andantes of the piano sonatas, ballades, and intermezzi by George S. Bozarth; Constructivist tendencies versus romantic exuberance: analytical remarks on some early songs by Ludwig Finscher

Johannes Brahms: A Guide to Primary and Secondary Resources at the Library of Congress

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International Brahms Conference

How to Find Recordings from the Conference

Highlighted Recordings